If being diagnosed with prostate cancer wasn’t enough reason for worry, research suggests that the worry itself may be as deadly as the disease for many sufferers.

The research, which analysed data on 168,584 Swedish men diagnosed with prostate cancer between 1961 and 2004, found that the men were at an increased risk of suffering a cardiovascular event and more likely to commit suicide soon after the diagnosis.

New Zealand-born financier Kirk Stephenson, 47, died last Thursday morning after throwing himself under a commuter train in Buckinghamshire, apparently because losses from the credit crunch.

His death has shocked the City, which is reeling from job and financial losses from the global banking crisis. He was chief operating officer at two-year-old private equity fund Olivant Advisers.